Community honors World War II navy hero Ensign Lawrence D. Solowey

The Jewish War Veterans Post 652 and the Merrick Jewish Centre recently memorialized a local hero, World War II veteran Ensign Lawrence D. Solowey.

The ceremony at the MJC marked 79 years since Solowey gave his life in service to the Navy. MJC community members wore traditional tefillin and tallit, participated in prayers led by Rabbi Josh Dorsch, and listened to speakers from the JWV Post 652 who told Solowey’s story and the stressed the significance of remembering the veterans in our community.

Gary Glick has been the commander of JWV Post 652 for almost 15 years. The post encompasses Bellmore, Merrick, East Meadow, Wantagh, Seaford, and surrounding communities. The post’s formal name is Ensign Lawrence D. Solowey Post 652. The resurgence of Solowey’s story started when Glick began to collect information from community members about the post’s namesake.

Glick is a veteran whose time in the military allowed him to meet countless soldiers with powerful life stories.

“I went into the service in 1969 — even though I wanted to go to Vietnam, it wasn’t in the cards,” Glick said. “It ended up going from 1969 to ‘72, and I didn’t go to Vietnam. I ended up in Germany as a chapel’s assistant. I was working for a chapel rabbi, the priests and everything else.”

Glick takes pride in the camaraderie in Post 652, and the veteran community, which makes projects like this possible.

The post has been named after Solowey for a decade, but this year, he dug deeper into the story behind the name.

“For years, nobody really found out about who Ensign Solowey was, or if they did, they didn’t go deep into it,” Glick said.

The members of Post 652 pieced together Solowey’s story: He was a Merrick resident and graduate of Mepham High School in Bellmore. He had his Bah Mitzvah at the MJC and entered service in the U.S. Navy at the age of 18, where he trained as a pilot. He died at the age of 21, when his plane tragically crashed within two days of World War II concluding.

By chance, Glick spoke with a member of the Merrick Jewish Center, who revealed that the MJC had a plaque commemorating Solowey in one of its rooms for smaller gatherings.

Once the connection was found, Post 652 and the MJC agreed to expand the display to include a biography and a framed portrait of Solowey, which were revealed at the memorial service. The service was timed to be within a few days of the anniversary of Solowey’s passing on Aug 13.

“I feel that history does tell you things,” Glick said. “We have a rich history here — so I try to get this out there.”

Veteran Hal Rosenfeld was an army engineer in Heidelberg, Germany during the 1960’s. He still recalls his experiences with the Solowey family.  “When we moved to Merrick, we lived right down the street from the Soloweys,” Rosenfeld said. “They were special people.”

The Solowey family home still stands in the neighborhood. The memorial service was made possible with contributions from the MJC’s Men’s Club, which promotes brotherhood and community activity. Josh Diamond, president of the men’s club, was eager to support the Jewish veterans.